Dr Mufasa wrote:There's a couple issues with your layout though.
First of all, part of Burke's job is to make this team money and to build a winning culture. He has stated any year we don't make the playoffs is a failure. None of these things are accomplished with the biggest "tank" plan, which would've been to keep both our picks and not sign any free agents, then get a bottom 3 pick and go on our way more next year.
Secondly there is no saying a Kessel like deal would be available next summer. Remember Kessel had told the Bruins he wanted to sign somewhere else, which lowered his value. And clearly he chose the Leafs to do it with.
If we were a bottom 3 team this year... getting 2 major UFAs wouldn't help us much because we'd still be 3-4 years away from doing anything with the difference in readyness between Kessel and the new guy. Remember UFAs are old. Young RFAs like Kessel who can fit into our youth core cost a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd to pry away
On a further note... UFAs are more attracted to better teams. Who do you think Kovalchuk would be more likely to sign with... a Leafs team who just made a 6th seed, or a Leafs team who tanked their way to a top 3 pick?
Either way the answer is the same... Burke is an anti tank GM... he wants to make the playoffs as fast as he can. Fans are always clamouring for rebuilding and tanking for 5 years straight... but something tells me if we didn't make the playoffs until 2015 people wouldn't be around much to exclaim YES!!! ... people have short patience. This team has already missed the playoffs for 4 years... it doesn't need to run that streak to 10 so we can hope to get the next Ovechkin
We're on the right path... Schenn, Kadri, Kessel are excellent core pieces... Burke and Wilson are great GMs... we have a lot of capspace next year... and this team will figure it out, once they slow down the game and start playing more physical. So I would just have patience... I like where the Leafs are going... even if they lost a draft pick in the process
The problem in pretty much every argument you made in this post is that you're treating the Leafs like any other franchise. They're not. They don't have to make the playoffs to make money, almost every other team does. Yes, making the playoffs means more money for mlse, but the team was in a very special position this year where the media and fans were pretty much willing to give them a break, and telling them it was ok if they didn't make the playoffs. Instead of seizing that rare opportunity, the team seemed to almost make panic driven moves this off-season, in an effort to make the playoffs. The thing about those types of moves is that the reward is much smaller than the risk it costs.
